Weekend in Dallas

Many months ago, we bought tickets to the Elite Eight Championship tournament in Arlington. We didn't include Clay in our little trip, because 1). he's a toddler, who hasn't shown great interest in watching basketball games (though he loves to play with balls of all kinds) and has absolutely no taste for sitting still for more than five minutes and 2). he had an invitation to spend a weekend alone with Nana and Papa, without the other kids. (The other kids also have an invitation for a solo weekend with the grandparents). So, we dropped Clay off on Friday afternoon and headed for the Big D.

After checking in to the hotel in Dallas and resting for a short while, we made our way to Cowboy Stadium in Arlington. We got parked and settled into our seats just in time to see Michigan and Kansas take to the court. The kids loved the mega-jumbotron and all the fun snacks. But they also really enjoyed picking a team to root for (since none of us were particularly loyal to any of the teams going in to it) and watching and learning about the game. We all decided to go for Kansas. It was a very close game and was very exciting, even going in to overtime. Weston kind of got caught up in the emotion of it all and was sad (to the point of real tears) that Kansas didn't win. We had to remind him that he had never even heard of Kansas before we started following the teams this year and that there was nothing on the line for him personally. We had a nice little break and a trip to the concession stand to assuage his feelings before the next game between Florida and Florida Gulf Coast began. We rooted for FGCU, since they were the underdog and gave a pretty impressive dunking display, especially in the first half. No one was particularly devastated by their loss, but that could have been because it was close to midnight, and we were all too tired to care much one way or the other.

Fortunately, we were all able to sleep in on Saturday morning. After a late breakfast, the kids changed into their swimsuits and spent the next four or five hours splashing and playing in the connected indoor and outdoor, shallow-enough-for-Max pools at the hotel, with a host of other kids who were in town for a big conference, while Jeff and I read and visited in relative dryness from the comfort of cushioned chairs. We even ordered pizza in for lunch, so that the fun wouldn't have to end too soon. When the kids were finally wrinkled beyond recognition, we decided to pursue other forms of entertainment. We found a theater that was still showing Life of Pi  and decided to take it in. It was an interesting and entertaining movie, which gave us some things to talk about afterward, as well. After the movie, we headed over to Magic Time Machine for dinner, where we were challenged to a battle of wits by our waiter, The Dread Pirate Roberts. Tired from the late night and all the swimming, the kids were ready for bed early.

On Sunday morning, there was time for more swimming, before the final game of the tournament. We came in thinking we would go for Florida, but got cold feet before the game started and switched to Michigan. (The boys actually switched back and forth throughout the game, probably to avoid getting overly attached to any one team and becoming too emotionally invested, as had happened on Friday) We were certainly glad we made the switch! Michigan was clearly the better team on the court yesterday, and we predict they may be even more of a force to be reckoned within the next few years, since two of their star players were only freshmen.

We had a great time at the tournament and doing some things that we can't easily do with Clay in tow. But, we were glad to be reunited with our Little Bitty, and he was glad to be reunited with Max. I took only one picture the whole weekend and then I left my camera at my parents' house when we picked up Clay, so I guess I'll add that later. Here's hoping you all had a wonderful weekend, as well!

Off the Beaten Path

There is a sinewy little boy I know, clad today in denim shorts,  a very dressy suit vest, a fancy cowboy hat, tough-looking work gloves, his red-topped cowboy boots and a bright turquoise Tow Mater t-shirt that reads, "Ah, Dang!" He also has a serious-looking weapon shoved in his front pocket and a Color Run tattoo on his left cheek. He is the very picture of perfection!

After lunch, I asked him to go up to the street and bring the garbage cans back to the house. He enthusiastically embraced his mission, as I watched from the garage. He rocketed up the driveway but suddenly veered off into the "wilderness." That's when my heart skipped a beat, and I was reminded again how much I love this little life--full of passion, lacking fear and always running off the beaten path. I have much to learn from him, and I'm thankful for an opportunity to study under such a master.

Office Space

When I renewed my contract to continue to be the director for our local CC campus, I decided to make myself seem a bit more official. So, I recently had professional head shots taken. 

And got some legit business cards. 

I don my business attire and straighten my hair on Tuesdays, so I even look the part. I love my job, and I work hard to make our programs successful. But there is one little piece of the puzzle that doesn't quite fit, and that's my office space. Our original house plans called for "his and her" offices. Private offices, unaccessible to children. But through numerous conversations and tweaking for budget and space and what-have-you, we decided it just made more sense to have just a "his" office and set up an office space for me in the homeschool area, so that I could do computer/paper work and still do my main job, which is to mother and teach our children. At the time I did not have my current paying job, and, of course, Jeff said I could use his office anytime I needed a private space. That's all well and good until I need the private space at the same time he needs the private space. It gets a little distracting (and not-so-private) when we are both crammed in there, trying to have separate phone conversations. But, because I have ADD under certain circumstances and because my children are loud enough to wake the dead (especially when I am on the phone), sometimes it is necessary for me to find a quiet place to conduct my business, especially phone calls. So, I have procured an alternative office space: The passenger seat of my van, which is parked in the now-clean garage. 

It is the very picture of glamour and professionalism. But, hey, it's quiet and climate controlled, and I can lock the doors to keep the bloodhound children out when they ultimately track me down. (Because everyone knows that a child couldn't care less if he even has a mother, until the moment a phone touches her ear, in which case he NEEDS her immediately and will use every trick in his arsenal to get her attention and make her look like a fool in front of whoever she happens to be talking to).

Blood, Sweat and Tears

We ran the Houston Color Run this morning. It was our very first 5K, and the whole family participated, including Mimi and Grandpa. Despite it being touted as "the happiest 5K on the planet," we had a fair amount of crying from several members of our group. We also had one injury that  ultimately eliminated three contestants. So, that's where the blood and tears came in. And, even though it was a little chilly for me to work up a good sweat, I do believe there were members of our team sweating. Clearly, it was a very colorful race, even in spite of the various splashes of color along the way.

Team ¡Colorifico! before the race

Watts at the starting line

Weston getting his color on

Feeling a little blue

The poster child for the Color Run

Race finishers

Recovered from his injuries and happy again

Clay got as much color from lunch as his brief time in the race

Living in the Arctic

The weather here in central Texas has been amazing the last couple of weeks. It's been warm and sunny outside, like any perfect spring should be. But inside the energy-effecient, concrete-floored, open-windowed house, it has been like the Arctic. I wake up in the morning shivering. I have a brief reprieve in my scalding shower. And then, I just keep adding layers and drinking coffee and closing windows all day long, while never really dispelling the bone-deep chill. Now, I will admit to being extremely cold-natured, but I have also seen my always uncomfortably warm hubby put on the occasional extra layer, as well, which is how I know I'm not just making this up. He told me today I could turn on the heater, but that just seems wrong when it's close to 80 degrees outside (and when the thermostat says it's 70 inside the house)! I know those of you who live in places where it truly gets cold must just be shaking your heads at how ridiculous this all sounds. I absolutely don't know how you manage to survive. You have my complete respect. I could not do it. I would not even want to try. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get cuddled up under a pile of blankets before I freeze to death.

First Day of Spring

Bye-Bye Bridgey

We left our house at 6:20 this morning, so we could make it across the bridge before they closed it to through traffic. We then picked up doughnuts and made our way to the park, with the rest of the population of Burnet County, to watch the spectacle. Around 8:00, they lit the fuse, and down she went. It was so fun to be part of this historic event!

Waiting for the action

Before

After

Spring Break

We did not take the week off from school and work, since we are planning to vacation during most of May and want to have have things wrapped up before that time. But we did have a break from most of our extracurricular activities, and we managed to work in some out-of-the-ordinary fun. Here's a run-down:

• Two lunch outings
• One dinner outing
• A viewing of the Pan-STARRS comet
• Disney vacation planning
• Delivery of a beautiful bouquet of tulips to me from my Sweetie
• The singing zoologist concert
• Donating no-longer-needed/wanted items from a closet cleaning project
• Pi Day
• Mom's Night Out
• Time with grandparents
• Several games of Checkers
• A story written for and about Max by his new favorite author: me
• Siting on the porch, enjoying the beautiful spring weather
• A much-needed pedicure
• Hanging out at Starbucks with friends
• Girls-only shopping trip
• Some driveway baseball
• A few games of War
• Windows open
• Video viewing 

And, tomorrow morning, we get to watch the implosion of the 281 Bridge in Marble Falls! What a great week! 

¿En Fuego?

At 1:15 am, the smoke alarms in our house went off. Because these kinds of things never happen at reasonable hours of the day, like 8:00 am. Jeff and I sat bolt upright, and Jeff promptly got out of bed and made his way to the bedroom door, ready to fight fire. I, on the other hand, just sat there. Because, I had no arms.

In the few seconds it took me to clear the sleepy fog from my head, I realized that I did, in fact, have arms, but they were both asleep. Fortunately, that little disability cleared up quickly, and I was able to join Jeff in the kitchen to assess the situation. He already had every light on and was inspecting the various cooking implements. There was no smell of smoke, but we were pretty unsettled, so we began a room-by-room search of the house, including the attics, and we even took our pajamaed selves outside to inspect. Just as we were about to declare the whole thing a mechanical malfunction, the alarms went off again. So, we searched again. When we still didn't turn up any smoke or fire, we began frantically looking for the owner's manual and searching online to see if we could determine, by the secret code of flashing or non-flashing lights, which smoke detector was impaired. It was another fruitless search. After a few more brief bursts of noise, the alarms finally fell silent, and we decided to call it a night. Sadly, all of our children died in this fire drill. Not one of them roused their sleepy little heads. Which is great, since it turned out to be a false alarm. But, seriously, not one of them managed to even groggily ask what was going on, which was maybe more unsettling than the thought of a fire in the first place. Today, there will be a mass changing of the smoke detector batteries, if anyone is looking for a good time.

I want some bugs, bugs, bugs in my chimichanga...but not in my pie

A couple of years ago, we saw Lucas Miller in concert, and my kids literally wore his CD out. He is, by far, our favorite singing zoologist, so when we heard that he was going to be putting on a performance at our local library today, we couldn't wait! He sings about nature and animals and is VERY entertaining...for kids and parents alike! You can check out his "chimichanga" song (from which the title of this post comes) here. If you like it, you can find several other of his songs on YouTube, as well.

Waiting for the show to begin

Doing a little pig jig

 And, in case you didn't know, today was also Pi Day! This is probably one of our family's favorite holidays, because, I mean, it's pretty much all about pie! (And, Math. But, mostly pie!) This year, Jeff's parents hosted a Pi Day party, and my mother-in-law made Shepherd's Pie for dinner and four different sweet varieties for dessert! Days just don't get much better than this!

Shepherd's Pie and weird backlighting

Now that's something to celebrate!

The Happiest Place On Earth

Before I get down to business here, did you notice the new blog title and the new tabs at the top? I was really tired of the extremely boring blog title I picked many moons ago, when I started this blog and didn't know a thing about what I was doing. I've been wanting to change it forever but just never got around to it until today. This one seems to more accurately reflect what's going on here, plus it is taken, in part, from a great quote of Deepak Chopra: "All great changes are preceded by chaos." Don't worry, the URL isn't changing, just the title. I'll still be here, where I've always been, reporting on the Watts Life. 

And now, for the insanity you came here for, and I'm not just using that word loosely. It seems that Jeff and I have officially lost the very last shreds of our minds by booking a family vacation to Disney World at the end of May. Neither of us have ever been much for amusement parks (or lines or crowds or wrangling kids through all that), and we have always vowed that Disney was one we didn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole. But, as we started talking to the kids about what family vacation they would like to take this summer, we got a unanimous vote (from those who can clearly express their thoughts in English) for Disney World. A unanimous vote! In our house, that is some kind of miracle. We have all manner of built-in coping strategies for who gets to pick what, and when (like whoever uses the broken headphones in the van gets to pick the movie), because these people cannot agree on anything most of the time. They all want to watch a different movie, go to a different restaurant, get different cereals at the grocery store, etc, etc. But, it was a unanimous vote for Disney World, so what could we do?! We were powerless to refuse them and thereby wreck the miracle. So, come May, you can find us at the Happiest Place on Earth, and after that, you might want to try the Loony Bin.

Real Boy Mom

When Jeff came out of his office this evening, he proclaimed that I finally seemed like a "real boy mom." It was hard to know whether he was referring to the pile of books under my feet, which had recently been swept off the bookshelf, or the smear of someone else's lunch on my sweater, or the makeshift baby gate I made out of painter's tape. He must have seen the puzzlement on my face, because he felt the need to further enlighten me. He said he knew I was finally a real boy mom by the 5 gallon stock pot bubbling on the stove with our dinner, that I had to stand on a stool to reach into to stir.

And here I feel I need to give some background information. Jeff grew up in a home with big guys, who were big eaters. I did not. Jeff's mom would make one pan of meatloaf per male inhabitant, and those would be eaten for afternoon snacks while the boys were asking what was for dinner. One (smaller) pan of meatloaf would last several meals at our house. So, when Jeff and I got married, he thought I was kidding around when I would make enough for the two of us for one meal. He wanted to know where all the food had gone, and I didn't understand what on earth he was talking about. He has been teasing me about my small servings for almost fifteen years. But, as I watch my seven-year-old go back for seconds and thirds at almost every meal, and clean up everybody else's leftovers, I am beginning to finally understand. Doubling recipes is essential. Tripling them is even better. 20-quart stock pots are not novelties. And trips to Sam's are not optional. I am finally starting to become a real boy mom.

Trying to find my voice

With the new slate of the new year, I had grand ideas about what I would accomplish or attempt to accomplish. One of the things that was burning in my heart was a desire to write. I wanted to write more consistently on this blog. I wanted to write in pen and ink on paper. I wanted to write something meaningful. Or funny. Or useful. Or beautiful. I had even hoped that there might be something publishable that I could pull out of the fleeting words floating around in my addled head. I have heard that many people give up on their New Year's resolutions by March. And, though I don't want to give up, I just feel like I haven't quite found my voice. I'm intimidated by the many truly beautiful and wonderful words I read in books and other people's blogs. And, when I do try to write, I just feel like I completely lack focus, and my words come out stilted, like I'm trying too hard. My mind, like my house, is not a shrine to tidiness. The words are in there, but they are hard to find under all the clutter. They are harder yet to express when I do find them. And, sometimes it makes me tired even to try. So, I don't. But, I don't want to give up, which is why I'm writing this post. It is purely an act of will right now to sit and put words together into sentences. But, usually, before something can come easily and be done for pleasure, it has to come by force. I am redoubling my resolve to write, even if it I must make myself do it for now. I hope that in so doing, I will find my voice and it will speak for itself.

Inflatable Wonderland

We are so thankful to finally have an indoor play place close by! This was the perfect thing for three energetic boys on a cloudy, drizzly day! (Our girlie wasn't with us, but she would have loved it, too!)

 

Dino Park

We had a fun field trip with our CC group to the Dino Park near Austin today. The weather was gorgeous, and the kids (and their chaperones) had a blast! My kids are already asking when we can go back.

T-Rex satisfying his sweet tooth

Ruth with the baby longneck. She is standing on Mom's footprint. 

The gentle giants

Striking a pose with Stegosaurus

Smarties

Ruth and Weston competed in the District PSIA meet today. This was Weston's first meet, and he competed in Creative Writing and Storytelling. He didn't place in Creative Writing, but he got very wonderful feedback on his story. The Storytelling competition consisted of prelims and finals. Weston won 1st place in the prelims, to advance to the finals, where he won 2nd!

Ruth competed in five events: Ready Writing, Spelling, Vocabulary, Mathematics and Listening Skills. These last three were brand new events for her. She walked away with 5th place in Math, 4th place in Listening, 3rd place in Writing and 1st place in both Spelling and Vocabulary, which will allow her to attend the State meet in May in Ft. Worth!

We are so incredibly proud of these kiddos!

Thankless, but not always

There is a reason motherhood is called "a thankless job." It's because a mother continually does stuff for other people, who seem never to notice she's done anything at all and who certainly never think of thanking her for what she's done. But, truthfully, mother's aren't in it for the thanks or praise. Mothers are just gluttons for punishment and rather enjoy the abuse and neglect. I'm kidding. We are in it for much nobler reasons than that. But, every once in a great while, we do get a heartfelt thank-you from those the Lord has entrusted to our care, and nothing feels quite like it. Yesterday, I actually got TWO unsolicited "thank-yous," from two different kids, reviving my faith in modern-day miracles and putting me on Cloud 9 for the rest of the evening. Honestly, I would have looked high and low for books about Cleopatra for a research paper and searched the darkest recesses of the closet for clean underwear without bitterness or expectation of accolades, just because I consider those types of things part of the job description. But, I will admit to basking in those moments of praise, which made me truly glad that I had spent time on those endeavors and may have given me the will to continue on in this thankless journey.

The Lord must feel a bit like that with His children, as well. He would love on us and give us everything we need for an abundant life, without expecting anything in return, just because that's what He does. But, how it must make Him smile and love us all the more when we acknowledge those gifts that we often take for granted! Let me not have a thankless heart today, but rather let me acknowledge and praise the Giver of "every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17).

Big

Earlier this week, Jeff commented on how big he thought Clay was getting to be. I held to my opinion that that couldn't be true because "he's still a baby." But, in my less delusional moments, I too can see that he's getting big. He has so many words now. And,  he is sometimes drinking from a big boy cup, instead of a sippy cup. And, he prefers to sit in a regular chair instead of a highchair. And, he can reach the doorknobs. And, he doesn't want to be left out of anything the big kids are doing. But, tonight, he took that bigness to a level I wasn't quite ready for by climbing out of his crib. He wasn't hurt, but he was pretty angry that he couldn't get the door open and make his escape complete.

And, just like that, our crib days are over. That crib is where all my babies have slept away their infancies and some of their toddlerhoods (or fought sleeping, as the case may be). And there are tiny bite marks along one end, where they all did some of their teething. To have the last baby put that piece of furniture behind him is admittedly hard on this mama's heart.

It's not that I don't want my kiddos to grow up. I just don't understand why it has to happen so incredibly quickly and without my full permission. There are many difficult things about motherhood, but I'm not sure if the hardest isn't these little letting-gos.

Thankful

"What are you thankful for today?" This question was posed by a Facebook friend this morning, and I quickly and confidently responded: "Opportunities to step out of my comfort zone." This was coming off a really good day at CC yesterday, where I truly felt thankful that I had stepped out of my comfort zone into the director position. But then, today, I was tired and I missed my workout and there was lots of crying and whining and several broken dishes and a sick kid and a toddler going around locking doors before pulling them closed. Even though all those things are definitely out of my comfort zone, I didn't feel all that thankful. Actually, I felt a little cranky and frustrated. But after the second broken dish, I removed myself from the family for a while in the hopes of keeping my sanity somewhat in tact. Eventually, that annoying door-locking toddler found me and wanted nothing more than to sit in my lap. And, I felt thankful for that. And then, the sick one felt better. And, I felt thankful for that. And then I realized that maybe it's the stepping out of the comfort zone that provides the thankfulness. Because, though there are always things to be thankful for, it is often harder to recognize them without experiencing the adverse conditions first. So, while locked doors and broken dishes might not make the top of the list of things I'm thankful for, I am thankful that my Little Bitty is getting big enough to reach the doorknobs. And, I'm thankful that my son is learning how to unload the dishwasher. And, I'm thankful for opportunities to step out of my comfort zone.

The Eighth Dwarf: Stripy

Miracles Do Happen

Jeff and I have been married 14 1/2 years. In that time we have owned and lived in four homes with garages. We have never once parked a car in one of those garages. Cleaning out the garage has been on our to-do list for most of our marriage, but it just always seems to get pushed to the bottom. But this weekend, it finally made it to the top. It was a whole family effort. And, if I didn't believe in miracles before, I certainly do now. We actually got it all cleaned up and organized...and, AND we parked my van and Jeff's car in there!! There is also a place reserved for Jeff's truck, but it is attached to the trash trailer, awaiting a trip to the dump this week. This may be the best day of my life! (Okay, okay, wedding day, birthdays of my children, and then today). I never think of taking a before picture, but some of you have been to my house and know what an incredible mess it was. The rest of you will simply have to trust me on that. I do have the after photo covered though, so here you go: Our very own miracle.

A place for everything...

...And everything in its place

Complete with vehicles

Nesting

I have always heard about expectant moms who get a "nesting" urge before they have the baby. I was not one of those moms. It's possible that this was the case because my life seemed to be somewhat tumultuous when I was pregnant with most of my babies. We moved two weeks after Ruth was born, so the months prior to her birth were more about upheaval than settling. When I was pregnant with Max, we knew that a move to Brazil was imminent. And, when Clay was camping out inside me, we were months away from completing the building of our home, and we were living in my in-law's home. So, yeah, "nesting" was not really my thing. But, ironically, the knowledge that I'm probably not going to have any more babies has kicked the nesting instinct into high gear. I just want to clean this place from top to bottom, and I want to declutter as much as possible. I cleaned and sanitized every surface of my bathroom this week, steam mopped all the downstairs floors, walked the boys through a thorough cleaning of their bathroom, scrubbed the microwaves, assisted Jeff with a deep-cleaning of the stove burners, and made a very serious attempt at getting the garage ready to actually house our vehicles. We filled the back of my van AND the back end of Jeff's truck with stuff to donate today, and tomorrow we will load a trailer with a heaping pile of garbage to haul off. And, boy, does it feel good. I just wish the clean could last. But, alas, real {messy} people live here, so it's just not possible. I will give myself an "E" for effort, though.

(I secretly wanted the children to sleep in a little longer this morning, so I could enjoy the clean look and feel--not to mention smell--of everything).

Help a brother out

Max was on the verge of finishing a reading poster today, and when Weston finished his own school work, he volunteered to be Max's reading helper. It made my mom/teacher heart proud! My favorite part is right at the beginning, when Weston says, "Say this part first. That is how I was taught to read."

Filling in all the empty spaces

Seems like the title of a Valentine's Day post, doesn't it? Well, it is, only in the sense that this day is typically called by that name. Personally, Jeff and I don't believe in Valentine's Day. We love each other every day, and we don't need a special day to let each other know that. In fact, I got flowers last week, and the week before, for absolutely no reason. We don't appreciate the societal pressure that comes with this and many other overblown holidays and, in fact, find it a little insulting. We are outside the societal norms in so many ways...But, I digress.

I'm actually writing about the fact that Weston had to have four cavities filled this morning. Poor baby! For some unknown reason, he seems to be especially prone to these kinds of problems, even though he brushes regularly. Jeff took him in this morning and said he was really tough and brave and impressed all the staff. He only reported being "wobbly" when it was all done. He came home and went straight to bed, where he is still sleeping off the effects of the medications and stress of the morning.

Jr. High

Well, after much deliberation, Jeff and I decided to enroll our soon-to-be-11-year-old in the CC program normally reserved for 12-year-olds, for the next school year. Which means, she will officially be in Jr. High. We are super-proud of Ruth, because the largest part of the decision was made based on her academic abilities, after talking amongst ourselves, with her current tutor and with the director/tutor for the Challenge program she will be going into. It just seems like the right place for her. But, y'all. I'm having a hard time with the concept that my baby is going to be in Jr. High! I won't lie, there have been tears. It's not even really that I'm sad, exactly. But, just tell me, if you can, where did that time go?!

Inspired by the weather

Rainbow in my Heart

by Mandi Watts

Today I chased a rainbow,
For I knew it could be seen.
Though clouds and rain filled up the sky,
The sun still shed its beam.

There had to be a rainbow
Lurking under all the drear,
So I scanned the whole horizon,
Looking far and near.

The sun gave a smile, the clouds did wink,
The raindrops made to part.
And to my surprise I found that rainbow
Unleashed inside my heart.

All about the food

We decided to celebrate my half-birthday (which is actually tomorrow) with brunch in Austin this morning, because I wanted to try the South Congress Cafe. Before we left, Max had two bowls of cereal for "a breakfast snack," and Weston lamented that "the bummer about brunch is that you only get to have two meals during the day, instead of three." But, it was my choice, so we went ahead with the brunch plan. We arrived around 10:20, only to find that there was an hour wait. We wandered around SoCo for a short while, but then the cold and hunger got the best of us, so we popped into Enoteca Vespaio for coffee and pastries (a sort of "breakfast snack," if you will). Just as our waitress delivered everything to our table, and only about 30 minutes after checking in at the South Congress Cafe, Jeff got a text telling us that our table was ready at SCC. We were in a quandary. But, we decided to just embrace the experience. We finished off our "breakfast snack" and then immediately made our way to the brunch spot, which had held our table for us. We got to try some unique and delicious fare, like green chili pancakes and crab enchiladas. And though we thought we might pop when the meal was done, it was well worth the trip and the wait. Our next stop was Sam's. They say you should never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, which we certainly didn't, but I would have hated to seen how much we would have bought if we had. And, the kids acted like they hadn't eaten in days, when it came time to try all the samples. What can I say?! We are Watts, and we're all about the food!

The things we say

Parenting provides plenty of opportunities to say ridiculous things. Here is a short list of crazy things Jeff and I have said to our children lately:

• "Take that banana out of your armpit."
• "Do not put the pizza crust in your ear."
• "You need to at least wear a shirt to dinner."
• "Stop standing on the dishwasher door."
• "There is spinach on your forehead."
• "Stop eating that pencil."
• "The hanger is not a toy."
• "Do not attempt to juggle the dishes. Just put them away."
• "Your shirt's on backwards."
• "Don't put your face in the helicopter blades."
• "When you need to go to the bathroom, please come inside."
• "Who filled the bathtub drain with toilet paper?"
• "Don't drink the hand sanitizer."
• "Quit throwing your shoes in the trashcan."
• "Do you know your socks don't match?"
• "I don't think the cows want to play with you."
• "Do you have a snack for your horse?"

Productive

Do you have any idea what a mother of four young children can accomplish when the toddler takes an extra-long nap and Daddy offers to take all the big kids to their various afternoon/evening activities?! Here are some of the things that might be possible:

• Mom might be able to send some emails for work, without a hundred interruptions.
• Mom might be able to have an important, somewhat lengthy phone conversation or two, without a hundred interruptions.
• Mom might be able to have a little snack, without a hundred questions about what she's doing and when she will share.
• Mom might be able to tackle some huge problem areas in her bedroom, where neglect has taken root and the piles have rendered certain pieces of furniture almost invisible.
• Mom might be able to repair her favorite giraffe, which has long lain in pieces, following some particularly intense roughhousing many months ago.

Conversely, soon after the toddler's nap ends, Mom might be able to have this text conversation with Dad:

M: Guess how productive I've been since nap time ended?

D: Mega

M: Actually "counter"

D: Well, that's what you get for being "re"

a little bit in love

 I have been looking for the "Mr. Right" of barstools since we started building our house. It has been a grueling and completely unproductive process. But, I was unwilling to settle. Back in October, I finally found the chairs of my dreams. I ordered up. The next day, I got a heartless email informing me that my order had been canceled and offering no other explanation. Devastated, I called to see if there had been some terrible misunderstanding. The overly chipper customer service rep cheerfully informed me that those stools were out of stock but they had lots of other nice stools to choose from, or I could wait several months for my chosen stools to be back in stock. I was heartbroken and only half-heartedly resumed my search for acceptable stools. It was just one disappointment after another. So, I finally gave up, thinking I might spend the rest of my days pathetically standing, rather than sitting, at our bar. But, a couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me that several months had passed since I first found the dream stools. I had not really believed it when the perky rep had told me the stools I was infatuated with would be back in stock, but I couldn't get them out of my head, so I decided to just check and see. They did, in fact, appear to be back in stock, but I had been burned before, so I did not get my hopes up. But, today, my friends, the barstools actually arrived at my house! And, I think I'm a little bit in love. They are even more perfect than I imagined, and I think we will be together forever.

stock photo that is so much better than the ones I took

room for everyone

dream stools

Time for more favorites

Good for what ails you!

This may be our new favorite restaurant! The food is wonderful,
but we mostly love the fun outdoor eating area, live music and  playground!
But mostly the playground.

Another fun local place we just discovered.
You gotta be going there to get there, but it's worth the trip!

I've always been an Aggie fan, but this football season was especially fun!

Versatile and comfortable enough to wear with jeans or skirts,
and I get compliments on them every time I wear them.

I've never thought of ice cream as just a substrate,
but these could possibly make me change my thinking.

I'm on my second MacBook Air, and I just love it!

A drink both Jeff and I enjoy
(And, I understand they come in a mango version,
which I cannot wait to try)

I never go here that I don't find something to bring home!

My new favorite way to teach Grammar! 

Sporty Weekend

~Friday morning--My tri-weekly 5K:  The Watts Treadmill Classic

~Friday evening--Xbox Kinect sports and dancing

~Saturday morning--3 basketball games

~Saturday afternoon--more Xbox Kinect

~Sunday afternoon--birthday party at martial arts studio

~Sunday evening--Super Bowl

 promised action pic of Max (14)